White House: Time to Legalize Cellphone Unlocking

The White House on Monday came out in support of a consumer's right to unlock their cellphone once they have fulfilled the terms of the contract. Ina Fried reports on digits.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

... I ... should you be allowed to look yourself on ... the White House says yes welcome to Digits I'm Simon Constable ... to tell us all about Israel Ina Fried AllThingsD or joining us from Snapple ... enough ... aam tell us what happens that to make the White House at us ... to order ... it if you want to go the Library of Congress which oddly enough their copyright office at ... the jurisdiction over the interpreted that to to Millennium copyright Act ... to prohibit ... of consumer and walking around cell phone ... bill is still ok if you get your carrier permission to apply for a permit but know that the MPA that ... brought controversial are actually prohibit you from unlocking your cell phone without your carrier division ... a lot of people were upset about it ... I went home and took it to the White House or you can ... set up online petition got a hundred and fourteen thousand people ... to save we think you should do something the White House responded Monday saying yes we agree with you we think consumers should be able to unlock ... the cellphone especially after you've filled the terms of their contract ... and that doesn't mean that this is ... yes legal today doesn't ... Noah got hurt so basically the White House is encouraging Congress to look out of ... the encouraging the Federal Communications Commission ... to get that anything they can deal ... on the victim of an area to where they might be able to ... pressure all the carriers could agree on a TNT for example are glad he'll unlocked or the phone when you're out of contract at the many years ... well now you painstakingly Chinese stunted this petition out what to do about him ... the firm entered the guy he started this year to go out ... and about the card when Motorola it engaged in legal action ... from walking down the pumping of the ... state for awhile took over the issue ... in the low light up the book are great ... and very encouraged by it but the real problem here ... is the law I felt that the job Millennium copyright Act ... which has come under fire from a lot of orders because ... typically consumers don't have the same rate in the digital age that they get to uni predicted allow you ... to think about it all the different things together basically the right ... to protect all it can be purchased however we like ... some of the right of gone away in the digital age and you think you really get it that why I felt that need to be read to him ... in ... a lot of vested interests and that that digital the name copyright Act aam ... who last week when supportive of it so this isn't always clear that ... know what nobody knew how Hollywood of the record industry have all the people who make art that ... they had a very important law and obviously you can put me in an area where where the euro can be taken so here we obviously ... go to create cards and ... those who ... do are go for the week the topic they did but it offered a ... good thing if I buy a book or movie but you know I have a reasonable right to warn you that on any device tied to ... the pressure of very complicated area of law and the cellphone unlocking the end of the building to be cute ... with a lot of the the the ... juicy juicy this um ... I did this thing out how much farther along the fight I'm all ... for this man I'm Bambi a cell phone hacking ... us are also contacting the cellphone on walking situation ... per share and hurt and actually that was the youth here in terms of ... handling even the carrier feel like when you ... go pitter pat or contracting to get the bond market ... so even though there was no legally due I don't think there was broad agreement when you talk ... to him yet now ... you have ... over the stakeholders ... but there's a lot of people in the chain of it ... it could be very hard on ... it's a great story as always thank the much Ina Fried All Things Digital ... you can read that story on WSJ don't call minds on AllThingsDigital don't come so check that out ... I'm Simon Constable ...